With the dramatic growth in popularity and use of cell phones in recent years, governmental and commercial entities have sought to leverage the technology by facilitating delivery of real-time alerts to cell phones. These alerts may carry urgent information about events that impact public safety, such as severe weather, criminal activity (e.g., terrorist attack, child abduction, etc.), and/or other situations. Alternatively, the alerts may carry less urgent but still significant information, such as basic information regarding stocks, weather, traffic, or news, or advertisements.
In the United States, for instance, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has established a Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) that will help ensure that Americans who subscribe to participating cellular wireless service providers will receive emergency alerts when there is a disaster or other emergency that may impact their lives or well-being. The CMAS defines three classes of alert messages: (i) presidential level, (ii) imminent threat to life and property, and (iii) child abduction emergency (Amber alert). Wireless service providers that implement the CMAS may further leverage the system to additionally deliver (or facilitate delivery of) non-emergency alerts such as those described above.